After upgading to panther I finally managed to to get access to/from both computers. The connect to server interface on the mac is a little different but achievs the same result.

NOTE: Most of the time the PC server doesn't show up on the MAC right away. It's almost like the MAC has to warm up. Eventually after a little while the PC server will show up on the MAC, so be patient.

The panther upgrade also solved my password issues when connecting to the Mac from my PC. I entered my MAC password in the PC password prompt and I connected right away.

I have done the impossible I have networked my PC and Mac and have my AOL DSL shared to my MAC from my PC using the router (SIGH) and it only took me 3 months.